Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

As I sit now and type this, a wave of memories hit me. Not sure if it's just the wee hours of the morning or my emotions kicking in. I'm guessing it will be a more emotional post. 2014 has been a year of learning and countless goodbyes for me, I wonder what 2015 will be like.

I've been putting off blogging for a week or so now; somehow I just feel so lethargic and moodless to do anything else. But hey, it's the last day of the year, I guess I'd want a closure for my blog as well as in my personal life :)

2014 is a major year for me. For starters, I have officially graduated! Please expect to see me rant a lot about uni life here. VU has been nothing but kind to me and for that, I am grateful. Truth be told, 3 years ago when I applied for uni, VU was never my first choice. I can tell you honestly that the only reason I chose it was because of the 75% scholarship offered. I was young, I didn't know what I really wanted. But I was also eager, and Marketing seemed to be my thing. I loved interacting with people and social media, especially so after I started blogging. So you could say that social media marketing is my 'true calling'. Haha. For me, uni was all about the people - friends, staffs and lecturers who have been the best part of the journey.

My friends, the 'Marketing Gang'. I would not have survived the last 2 years without you! You deserve more than one shoutout for being the best bunch of people to hang out with, my family in KL. Because I don't drive, they're always offering to chaffeur me around and bring me to explore new plaees. The girls especially, are so, so sweet you wouldn't believe it. I'm a very messy and forgetful person. Knowing I'd usually forget to print my notes, they'd print it for me and they'd always reject my payment like ASDFGHJKL how can I not pay right!! I'm definitely going to miss all the times we stayed up to rush our assignments. Wah, it's a super tough process, trying to finish our work on time while fighting the urge to sleep. Often, we'd Skype while we're working and take turns napping and waking each other up. Come to think of it, these sessions are the motivation to keep me going and produce the best work possible! My best assignment gang ever. We have so much chemistry that we can just pick a topic and leave the others to do the rest, with no worries at all. I'm definitely going to miss our hangout sessions even more, especially on Fridays after a tiring week of assignments and tests. We'd usually go to TGV at Setia Walk because these idiots say the popcorn there is better, hence worth the extra petrol, toll and parking fees for HAHAHA. It's true, my wallet bleeds whenever we go out (lol) but it's so very worth it because I got to try so many new things with good company! Ahhh I really miss you guys so much :( Sometimes I think you know me even better than I know myself. I wish we didn't live 300km apart, if not we could still hang out whenever we want :( Thank you can't even suffice for everything you've done for me and all the good times we've had! Please come down to JB soon again!

Graduation also means that I've 'retired' from VUBC. In a blink of an eye, it's been 2 years since I joined the team. From them, I learnt how to work in a team and how to be a leader. For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to be the head of a whole event - Freshies' Night. Albeit, I'm not the most organised person ever and even organising my own birthday party sent me into panic mode, so I'm forever grateful to the team that has helped me and encouraged me along the way. Everyone worked with so much energy, and synergy, that I never doubted how successful the event would turn out, just like how all our other events have been. It is also through the club that I learnt some basic accounting skills, admin work and even social media management. The club also brought me closer to some of my lecturers and you know, they're only human too! I'm friends with my lecturers on Facebook too, they're a pretty cool bunch! Of course, I can't forget the last team building we had together at Broga Hills. It's a memorable way to end my final activity with the team! Thank you, seniors and juniors, for teaching me so much and for the farewell video! I tear up everytime I read your messages. Truly, VUBC Rocks ;)

Photo credits: Marcus

Aiya, I don't have a more recent photo with the 'new & improved' Carousell team, so this one from our first meeting in Sg last year will have to suffice. Haha. I think I can safely say that my Carousell job is my first real and longest job ever, even though it is part-time only. I've had the job for one year, seen and experienced every crisis or joy the team had. I started as an intern and even back then, it was never stressful and always fun. The bosses (who don't like us to call them bosses) always makes sure that everyone's welfare is taken care of and that they are comfortable with their jobs. I may not be active during Skype meetings nor chat on the Whatsapp group, but I observe that everyone working there, even the interns, are proud and glad to be part of this team. In fact, it's more like a family :) You guys won't know it but most of them work late nights from home or from the office just to get the system running perfectly. That's dedication! My only regret is not knowing some people from the team as well as I should have. Helping out with the recent flea and meetup in Malaysia is enough for me to learn from the team. Even after I left, I still got flowers from them to congratulate me on my graduation. How sweet is that! Thank you :)

My babes Jess & Jane. It feels as if we have known each other for a long time, but in actual fact, it's only been like, 3 months. LOL. It's a funny story of how we met. I started by 'stalking' Jess on Instagram because my housemate, who is her junior in uni. told me that she's a blogger. We started chatting on FB after that and the first time we met was at Furla event where I so 'bravely' got her to go with me, even though we've never spoken in real life before XD For Jane, we met during MIGF Media Launch cos I sat next to her. She told me I looked familiar, prolly cos we also followed each other on Instagram HAHA. Ever since then, we became fast friends and invited each other to events. Someone asked us during the MIGF Gala Night, 'how long have we known each other?' and he was so surprised to know that we've only been friends for 2 weeks! HAHAHA. Yet, we have so much in common, so much to talk and laugh about. There's never a dull moment. It's always good to find people with the same passion and principles as you. We talked about attending Fashion Week together. It started as a dream, and this year, it really came true! So I think you girls might just be my lucky charms ;) Thank you girls for the 'last' shopping trip before I came back to JB and for the thoughtful gifts as well. Fret not, will try and attend events back in KL and sleep on Jess's floor, since she offered :p Can't wait for more future collabs/ events with you two! ;)

Ma Cherie girls :) It's been a year since we met and about 9 months since the group was formed. Last night, we just had our year-end party, a night of fellowship and good times. We've never had a full gathering with all 11 of us before, I hope it'll happen soon! We are a diverse group of women of different ages, yet we bond so well. Everyone specialises in something, which makes us kind of an 'all-rounder' group. I get to learn so much from these girls. It's mostly real-life experiences that I won't get to learn anywhere else, so thank you for that. I've always wanted to see how a photoshoot works and well, I got to help plan my own one this year. I would say that La Vie En Rose is a success! I really enjoy spending time with them as they are so motherly and takes care of us, I feel so loved! Here's to more exciting adventures for our blogging careers, more milestones in each of our lives and more exposure for the group! Hehe. Can't wait to see what 2015 has in store for us. Perhaps another photoshoot? :p

Now as I sit back and reflect, I realise life has been good to me. I've learnt so much and discovered myself along the way. But with graduation, also comes unemployment. This has been nagging on my mind the past few weeks (also nagging from my parents). As optimistic as I'd like to be, I really don't know what my future holds for me. I secretly want to earn some more money, go travelling first and then return to find a stable job. But I know my parents would disapprove. Sigh. When can I experience such freedom, such youth again if not now? :( On top of that, what if I don't find a job that I like? I'm not so good at adapting, I worry about office politics and fitting in too, just like any other human being. What if I'm not happy? What if I don't earn well enough? I always say that my first paycheck will go into my mouth so hopefully my braces plan can materialise next year? 

Besides, there is so much backload to work on, be it on my blog or life. I think I might be biting off more than I can chew. It's time I put those skills that I've learnt to the test again, and get my life back in order. Right now, it's not organised at all. I cannot be this immature, happy-go-lucky girl anymore if it means I'm being irresponsible for my own life.

2015, you are a blur to me now. It's scary, it feels like I'm stepping into another phase of life and honestly, I'm not looking forward to it. But I hope that it'll also mean new beginnings, a new chapter. Seeing everyone else's life progress, I need to have that too. One day I'm going to look back on this post and see how silly I've been. For now, I'll slowly step into the next year, relishing my carefree years as I go.

I sincerely hope you'll have a good year ahead and that you will never have to be as lost as I am now. Look at everything and treat it as an opportunity. Learning never stops for me, which is why I hope I'll be happy while learning too. No more books to study, but so much more to face in the real world. Let's brace the New Year together, shall we? :)

Happy New Year 2015!